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Shannon Malone

Social Media Maven

Shannon joined the team in 2013 as Fireclay's Social Media Maven. After graduating from the University of California Santa Cruz with a degree in Cultural Anthropology, Shannon pursued her lifelong passion for interior design by working as a freelance writer for Houzz. Her interest in design related content eventually led her to Fireclay where she gets to spend her day spreading the Fireclay word and help get tile to the people!

Susanne Redfield

Creative Consultant

Tile designer and ceramist Susanne Kibak Redfield merges her Danish roots and love of traditional crafts with a modern sense of restraint that brings just enough to the design without going over the top. After graduating from the University of California Santa Cruz in 1981, Susanne started her own business making ceramic tiles. She introduced Kibak Tile through Kneedler Fauchere, a revered interior showroom to the trade, then spent twenty five years in a successful relationship with Ann Sacks. "I began hearing about Fireclay Tile, their sustainable story and youthful energy really captured my imagination, I absolutely wanted to be part a company that really cares about tomorrow. Designing product for Fireclay Tile is energizing, truly inspirational.

Handpainted How It’s Made: Susanne’s Inspiration

Creativity. What generates that first stir of inspiration? In my case I see the world around me in patterns, repeating patterns wherever I go. The abundance of pattern in nature is daunting, leaves, ripples, pebbles, waves, nature is a how to book, a tutorial on the glories of repeat pattern. I try to keep my eyes open to so much–I go to trade shows, fabric shops and museums, or just wander through magazines and surf the net to find a spark, something that grabs me. This fascination with pattern is how my partnership with Fireclay and the new Handpainted Collections evolved.

For thousands of years we have been compiling patterns, every pattern we see has a base, a history, it's all been done before. The fun part is putting that original twist on a new design, making it distinct and feel fresh. Alexander Girard, a master of fabric design for Herman Miller is a brilliant example, he was inspired by the simplest forms, squares, triangles, circles, even something as ordinary as our alphabet, with color, repeat, scale, and design he made them his own.

Another icon in the design world who could make any simple shape or color her own was Maija Isola, founder of Marimekko. Her colorful and fresh fabrics, were simple, direct, and utterly unmistakable.

When contemplating the new Handpainted Collections I remember, walking one day along a chain link fence and seeing it's shadow on the sidewalk, distorted, but quite lovely. I searched for photos when I got home and found my way to images of expanded metal mesh. I was captivated by the overlapping lines, the shadows, the geometry. When designing I really need to imagine what it might look like as a tile on a wall or floor, would I like to live with it?

Once I began playing with these patterns on the computer I found it fun to distort and squeeze the shapes, play with scale to make them my own. A major portion of theContemporary Collection ended up being designed that day.

Pattern sketch

Some sketches get edited and stored away, perhaps for another day or another iteration.

Pattern sketch

Others make the first cut and get sent to the creative design team where they are curated, and blended into a cohesive group.

Hand crafted and timeless inspiration from Fireclay Tile.

Welcome to Fireclay Tile’s Design Blog, dedicated to sustainable and beautiful design for people + the planet. We have invited several of our staff + friends to share their stories and inspirations with us.

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Why Fireclay Tile?

At Fireclay, our goal is to make amazing tile exactly the way you want it. We are unique from anyone else in that we make every tile to order using recycled materials and sustainable manufacturing practices, all right here in California. We focus on working directly with you to create the residential and commercial project of your dreams, all in a timely manner and with the greatest customer service in the world.